Voice of Concern
by ryhoyarbie
Summary: Guinan has an interesting conversation about the crew to Captain Jellico.


_Star Trek is owned by Paramount….._

 _This takes place after LaForge and Jellico have a talk about getting Riker to pilot the shuttle for a mission during the second part of the episode "Chain of Command"_

 **Ten Forward**

Ever since Captain Edward Jellico arrived on the Enterprise and took over the ship, he had been hard pressed. He had ordered the crew to juggle too many assignments at once and wasn't willing to let anyone have any breathing room to get one assignment done and go to the next.

The crew was feeling tension with their new captain. Various people spoke to their department heads who then communicated those problems to the first officer, Commander Will Riker, and ships counselor, Lieutenant Commander Deanna Troi. Unfortunately, Jellico didn't want to hear those problems as he wanted the crew to prepare the Enterprise incase they get into battle with the Cardassians.

However, at the same time a lot of the crew wondered if Jellico was thinking properly because he was making all of these changes in short time because he had dealt with the Cardassians for so many years. From the crew's point of view, Jellico was making them out to the worst threat the Federation had ever seen.

Jellico talked with LaForge about getting someone to fly the shuttle to lay down mines in order to drive out the Cardassians from the McAllister Nebula. Geordi told Jellico that Riker was the best man for the job. Jellico didn't want to confront Riker after dismissing him from his duties. He didn't like Riker and thought he was a bad first officer. That's why he promoted Data as the new first officer because he was compliant.

Jellico wondered around the corridors of the ship before entering Ten Forward. He didn't know what he was doing in this room since he had only been in it once where the change of command took place. He looked around and saw an empty room filled with chairs and tables. In the distance, he saw the McAllister Nebula from the windows. He looked around.

"Can I get you something, Captain?"

Jellico turned around and saw the ships bartender, Guinan.

"Kind of quiet tonight?" He said to her.

She moved from behind the bar and walked towards Jellico. "It's been very quiet for several days now with all the crew busy getting everything ready in preparation if they might have a confrontation with the Cardassians and all."

Jellico bristled a little with the mere mention of the crew basically working around the clock and not having enough time to relax. _Is everyone against me including the ship's bartender_? Jellico thought to himself. _Am I that much of a demanding captain_? Jellico thought that but then decided it was for the best he was making all of these changes incase there was a battle in the nearby horizon.

"You think I'm riding the crew too hard and that I'm going overboard, aren't you?"

Guinan tossed her head back and forth ever slow slightly. "Yes, I think you are."

Jellico sighed. _Here comes another confrontation._

"Guinan, right?" Jellico asked.

She nodded.

Jellico continued. "Look, the Cardassians could tear this ship and blow it apart. I made all these changes because I wanted this crew to be ready in case we have a battle. The Cardassians aren't going to be friendly and let us be on our way even if they don't like what we have to say."

Guinan nodded and counteracted. "I know, but I also know you're making the Cardassians at this unstoppable enemy, so much in fact a lot of the crew questioned if you're even thinking straight for this mission."

"You don't understand," Jellico responded. "I've dealt with the Cardassians before. They don't care about playing nice. They don't care if the crew and I are having problems seeing eye to eye. What they care about is getting what they want by any means necessary, and it could come down to a battle between us and them."

Guinan thought for a moment about her the words she was about to use. "Captain, how much do you know about this ship?"

"The Enterprise?" Jellico wasn't for sure where this was going.

"Well, the missions," Guinan elaborated. "How much do you know about some of the things this crew has experienced?"

"I don't know where this conversation is going," he said.

"On their first mission, this crew encountered the Q. Have you ever countered the Q before?"

"No, I have not" Jellico said flatly.

She nodded. "I see. Well the Q that was sent to the Enterprise is the same one I encountered sometime in the past. This Q put Picard on trial for crimes against humanity. Q said humans were a savage, child race and tested this crew to see if that opinion was true. The crew passed Q's test."

Jellico continued listening.

"Then a few months down the road, the Enterprise was sent in another galaxy, specifically the M-33 Galaxy, where it would have taken this ship over three-hundred years to get back to Federation space. Ever been there?"

"No, I have not," Jellico retorted.

Guinan continued. "Then a year later I came on board. Sometime after that, the same Q came on board the ship and hurled the Enterprise to the edge of the Alpha Quadrant where they met the Borg for the first time." She paused then spoke some more as she moved a few inches. "Q thought it would be a good test for the Enterprise since Picard thought they were ready to encounter more interesting life forms they had not previously encountered."

She paused and gazed out the windows of the lounge and then back at Jellico. "You ever encountered the Borg before?"

Jellico was skeptical on where this conversation was going. "No, I have not." The only words he could say to this lady.

Guinan nodded again. "Then a year later, the Enterprise encountered the Borg again where they captured and assimilated Picard. The crew saw their captain transformed into one of those things. Because of Picard's knowledge, the Borg destroyed thirty-nine starships and assimilated and killed thousands of people. The Borg almost would have assimilated Earth and probably take over the Federation if it weren't for this crew including their captain, Will Riker."

"Look, I wasn't anywhere near Wolf 359. I was dealing with the Cardassians." Jellico straightened up his uniform as it began to feel a little too tight for him. "What is your point?"

Jellico's tone was a little sharp when he said that, but that didn't back off Guinan. "My point is this crew has been through far more deadly encounters than the Cardassians. The Cardassians are nothing more than small potatoes compared to the Borg and Q putting humanity on trial."

Guinan moved to face Jellico so she could look him eye to eye. "When the Enterprise crew encountered the Borg for a second time, this time in Federation space, they knew what their captain expected of them. Picard didn't pile all these list of demands at once to where they were stressed. They all kept a cool head and prepared the ship the best they could under Picard's leadership. He praised them and gave them encouragement."

Guinan paused and continued again. "When the Borg had assimilated Picard, Riker was promoted captain. I spoke to him about letting Picard go because the thing that tried to destroy the Enterprise wasn't the Captain, it was something else. Although Riker heard me out, he didn't want to give up on Picard. He, with the help of the crew, were able to not only get Picard and have him cut ties with the Borg, but he and the crew saved the Federation and Earth from becoming assimilated. It was because of Riker's leadership they were successful, and you and I wouldn't be having this pleasant conversation right now."

Guinan pressed forward with Jellico. This was going to be the icing on the cake that Jellico didn't want to hear. "So let you tell you something, whatever kind of problems you are having with Riker, whatever kind of friction you're having with this crew, you're causing it by not hearing them out, without listening to the crew or your senior officers. If this crew gets through this mission, and they will, you're going to have a lot of repair work to patch up with them if you continue on as the ship's captain. That's going to be the most difficult task you'll face, not the Cardassians."

Jellico was bristling. He wasn't accustomed to having a civilian telling him what to do. He calmly collected himself and looked at Guinan. "I can see why Picard thinks very highly of you. He told me so himself right before he left."

"He should think highly of me. I am over five-hundred years old after all," she gave a little smile to Jellico. "Excuse me."

She walked off leaving Jellico to himself in the room. _Repair work,_ Jellico thought. He decided the first person he needed to get things fixed was with Riker, though Jellico did not want to face him. However, he needed Riker to pilot the shuttle since everyone thought he was the best person for the job, and confronting him wasn't going to be easy.

Jellico walked out of Ten-Forward and proceeded to speak with Riker.


End file.
